


When I'm with You, Everything Glows

by eyeslikeonyx



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: 2012-2013 NHL Lockout, 2012-2013 NHL Season, Adoption, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Kid Fic, M/M, Magic, Mutual Pining, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-08 18:48:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16434839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eyeslikeonyx/pseuds/eyeslikeonyx
Summary: Naida is a nice little kid. All the kids are nice and starry-eyed in Evgeni’s presence, but Naida is not even bothered to look at him as anything other than another person, another adult that will pass through her life. She isn’t phased being in the company of Russian sports royalty. She only became just as mesmerized as the other children when Evgeni gave her individual attention and actually gave her permission to call him Zhenya. He didn’t allow that with any of the other children or adults.Evgeni should have realized how attached he was growing to this little orphaned girl, but he doesn’t even notice just how close he has become to Naida until it’s too late.





	When I'm with You, Everything Glows

**Author's Note:**

  * For [secretsidgenowriter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretsidgenowriter/gifts).



> after a very entertaining yet stressful writing process, i finally finished it! i'm very proud of this story, and i hope everyone here enjoys it, especially my recipient!
> 
> (i highly recommend listening to the song "waking up slow" by gabrielle aplin when reading this story. the story’s title comes from the lyrics.)
> 
> shoutout to my beta for being the best and proofreading this for me at the very last possible minute and for also being my cheerleader through this whole process.
> 
> to secretsidgenowriter: i really hope this story lives up to your expectations and that you enjoy this story! all of your prompts were amazing, and i wish i could've done them all! hope you love reading this as much as i enjoyed writing it!

When Evgeni meets Naida for the first time, he is hosting a charity hockey camp for the local children living in orphanages in St. Petersburg during the NHL Lockout.

The director of the orphanage has Evgeni meet all of the children living in the orphanage where the hockey camp will be hosted. Of course, they’re all so thrilled to be able to meet one of Russia’s biggest hockey heroes, and Evgeni’s heart is soaring knowing that he is making these children happy.

The only one that seems to hold back from speaking to Evgeni is a little girl no older than seven with long, wildly curly black hair, tanned skin, and the most striking emerald green eyes Evgeni has ever seen. She’s not shy, but she is clearly not very interested in getting a hockey stick signed by Evgeni Malkin—or by any hockey player, for that matter.

The orphanage director gives the girl a pointed look and says, “Evgeni Vladimirovich here is being very nice to you, so you will take his gifts and behave.”

“He can’t bring my Mama and Papa back,” the little girl bites back. Evgeni doesn’t take it to heart, though. If anything, he sympathizes. He squats down to her level, mindful of his bad knee.

“You’re right,” he tells her. “I can’t bring back your family. But that shouldn’t stop you from having some fun. Can you skate?”

The little girl looks surprised that he is paying any attention to her. She shakes her head dumbly and Evgeni grins.

“That’s ok. I can teach you. It’s not so hard once you get the hang of it. Do you want to learn how to skate?”

The little girl hesitates before nodding her head, never taking her eyes off of Evgeni.

“What’s your name?” Evgeni asks.

“Naida.”

“That’s a pretty name.”

The corners of Naida’s mouth slightly curl upward.

“Thank you. Sorry for being so mean to you, Evgeni Vladimirovich.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. And please, call me Zhenya.”

Naida’s close-mouthed smile grows until she is beaming at Evgeni. Evgeni holds out his hand for her, and she gives his hand one firm, childlike shake. Evgeni’s shoulders shake as he laughs while Naida giggles alongside him.

Evgeni has to leave, then, when his assistant comes over to him to tell him that he has to follow her to get everything ready for the skating camp. Evgeni rises to his full height with a long sigh.

“I’ll see you on the ice in a little bit, Naida,” he says. “You’ll be skating circles around everyone in no time.” Naida scrunches her nose at Evgeni’s words but accepts Evgeni’s high-five by her head. Evgeni chuckles and ruffles her soft, curly hair.

When Evgeni walks away, his heart feels so fond. Naida is a nice little kid. All the kids are nice and starry-eyed in Evgeni’s presence, but Naida is not even bothered to look at him as anything other than another person, another adult that will pass through her life. She isn’t phased being in the company of Russian sports royalty. She only became just as mesmerized as the other children when Evgeni gave her individual attention and actually gave her permission to call him Zhenya. He didn’t allow that with any of the other children or adults.

Evgeni should have realized how attached he was growing to this little orphaned girl, but he doesn’t even notice just how close he has become to Naida until it’s too late.

During the skating lessons on the first day, he has Naida stick close to him. She’s wobbly on her skates, but she improves exponentially as the day wears on.

The second day of camp is a lot like the first. Naida is practically glued to Evgeni’s leg, but she gets a little braver as the day wears on. She cheers when she manages to skate and control the puck at the same time and snap the puck in the back of the net past the goalie. She tries to mimic Evgeni’s one-legged celly, but she just ends up falling backwards onto her butt, cackling as she slides around on the ice.

“Good job, Naida!” Evgeni shouts. He is so focused on how happy she is that he almost misses the small sparks of purple around her head. He assumes it’s just a trick of the light and mentally shakes away the thought.

The third day is where he realizes that Naida is definitely not like any of the other children around her. She’s unlike any child Evgeni has ever met.

They have an immediate connection and Evgeni feels this unmistakable tug in his heart every time Naida has to leave to go back to the orphanage she’s living in. She always looks so sad whenever she has to leave Evgeni behind. Evgeni can sympathize, because he feels the same way about having to send her back to that place.

He can tell that Naida is lonely. Seldom ever does she speak to the other children around her age, and if she does, it’s so she can tell them to leave her alone and to stop making fun of her. Evgeni hates how they target her, laughing at her if she shoots the puck wide of the net as if they didn’t just do the same thing.

“You know, in the pros,” Evgeni tells a group of boys after they’ve finished snickering at Naida for slipping and falling on the ice, “making fun of your teammates and opponents doesn’t get you anywhere except in a penalty box or on a bench. There is no reason to be mean to anyone. Coaches don’t appreciate it, and neither do the ones that you make fun of. As soon as none of you shoot wide of the net, I don’t want to hear anyone laughing at anyone else. Understood?”

The children all stop laughing after that.

When the fourth day of camp comes to a close, Naida clumsily skates over to Evgeni while he’s talking to the other camp coaches and hugs his leg as tightly as she can. Evgeni chuckles and kneels down to her level to give her a proper hug.

“Thank you, Zhenya,” she whispers. Evgeni suddenly feels a little warm. It’s unexpected and starts in his heart before spreading through his entire body. And just as quickly as it comes, it disappears when Naida lets go and skates back over to her group.

“That little girl has grown very attached to you, Zhenya,” Alex Radulov tells him. He pauses, waiting for Evgeni to respond. Evgeni stays silent.

Realization dawns on the group, and Evgeni knows that he has been found out.

“And if I didn’t know any better,” Rads continues, “I’d say that you’re becoming very attached to her, too.”

Evgeni doesn’t reply as he watches Naida wobble off of the ice, staying in the back of the line and waving to Evgeni before disappearing back down the tunnel.

Naida is not like the other children, but Evgeni will be damned if he lets anyone try to change her and make her feel like she isn’t worth anything. She is special. Evgeni can see just how special she is, and he knows she will never thrive living in an orphanage.

He calls his agents and starts getting some paperwork organized and ready.

 

Evgeni has a lot of money. He knows he has a lot of money, and he knows how much good he can do with it. He has hosted many charity events, donated plenty of money to hospitals and hockey camps. He visits sick children all the time both in Russia and in Pittsburgh. He has done plenty of good since becoming an elite athlete. He has always been a good man wanting to do the right thing for those less fortunate than him. Even when he was poor and only living on meals given to him by the Metallurg kitchen staff, he did everything that he could to make sure his family ate before him and that they always had a roof over their heads and clothes on their backs.

He knows that all of those good things and that golden heart of his are just a dime of dozen unless he does something no one would ever expect of him. See, they _expect_ him to host fundraisers and visit sick children. They _expect_ him to give jaw-dropping donations to failing hospitals. They _expect_ him to care for his parents and his brother. This is all _expected_ of him.

But as he stands in front of the heavy wooden doors leading into the adoption agency in St. Petersburg, he knows that this is the best thing he could ever do for someone less fortunate than him. He is willing to give up the wild nights of partying and drinking with his friends if it means giving someone else a better, much happier life. He has grown bored and lonely living the Playboy fantasy. He wants his life to have some meaning, some purpose outside of hockey and alcohol and mandatory charity work.

Naida has changed his heart. This little girl that he has only known for a few days has altered his entire perspective on life. Hockey is temporary and can only fill so many voids. Alcohol and one night stands are only for a night. Family is forever. Having someone to look up to him is exactly what Evgeni needs, what he _wants._

“Evgeni Vladimirovich,” Maria, the agent that he is speaking with at the adoption center, is slow and careful when she talks, “I am very glad that you would like to adopt a child from one of our orphanages in the city. But do you not want to adopt a baby? Someone younger? Or even a boy? The older a child is, the more problems you will face. And girls are much more high maintenanced.”

“My agent already gave me the same speech,” he explains. “I want to adopt a little girl living in St. Mary’s Orphanage. Her name is Naida.”

Maria sighs.

“I will have to speak with the director of the orphanage. And there is a lot of paperwork that goes into adoption.”

“I’m aware of that. I’m already working on getting my papers in order. I will have them ready by the end of the week.”

“It’s going to be much harder for you to adopt since you normally have a permanent residency in another country.”

Evgeni already knows all of this. He has done extensive research over the past two days, and he knows what needs to be done to be able to adopt Naida and bring her over to the United States when the lockout ends. He knows that it won’t be easy, but he will make it happen.

“I know what is needed to adopt Naida. I have the money and will get the papers needed to adopt her.”

Maria eyes him skeptically before clicking through her computer and, after finding what she was searching for, dialing a phone number on her office phone and lifting the receiver to her ear.

“Hello, Ilya Smirnov?” she says after a prolonged silence. “Yes, this is Maria Petrova, from the adoption agency.”

Another pause.

“I have a client here who wants to adopt one of the children from your orphanage. He is insistent on adopting one specific little girl. A girl named Naida.”

Another longer, tenser pause follows. Evgeni’s heartbeat pounds in his ears.

“I already asked him if he wanted to adopt one of the boys or a baby, but he said no,” Maria says. “He wants this child, and he has already said he will have the paperwork in order by the end of the week. He is very persistent.”

Evgeni’s phone quietly buzzes in his pants pocket, alerting him of a text message. He pulls out his phone since Maria is still talking on the phone. His heart skips a few beats when he sees Sid’s name flash across his screen with an oncoming text.

**Sid))) : These meetings are complete bullshit. Bettman isn’t budging on new proposals. This lockout could take all season. Does your coach still want to think about letting me come play for the KHL for a little while? Pat and JP think I’ll be able to come over.**

“Ok, I will tell him,” Maria’s voice breaks through Evgeni’s mind. He quickly puts his phone away as she hangs up her phone. She takes a deep breath and eyes Evgeni once more.

“Ilya Vladimirovich says that he is willing to allow Naida’s adoption to become validated. As long as you have the paperwork and the money ready by the end of the week, you can begin the process to adopt Naida Alexandris. Adopting her is the easy part, Evgeni Vladimirovich. Having her immigration papers prepared for when she moves to America with you will take much longer and will be much more complex.”

“I have time. There is still a lockout and I don’t know when I will be back in America. I want to begin the adoption process as soon as possible. No stalling. The sooner I can adopt Naida, the sooner I can get her paperwork done for when we go back to America.”

Maria’s silence ends with a defeated sigh as she digs through her desk to find some forms. She hands a folder full of them to Evgeni.

“Have these filled out and signed by Friday,” she instructs, “and she will be yours on Monday. If you have any questions or concerns, the office’s number is in the folder. Have a good day, Evgeni Vladimirovich.”

Evgeni walks out of the building with a bit more of a hop to his step, despite the cold wind gusts blowing snow through the streets of St. Petersburg. Next Monday, Naida will be his daughter. They will be a family.

Evgeni has never felt happier.

He pulls out his phone and sends a text to Sid.

**Evgeni: I see what they say. No promises. Lockout not last forever.**

**Sid))) : Bettman is really digging his heels in. If we don’t have anything by New Year’s, the season is toast.**

**Evgeni: Buy Rosetta Stone. Come to Russia))))**

**Sid))) : I will if I can play hockey with you. :)**

**Evgeni: Who else you play with?))**

**Sid))) : Rads would be a great winger.**

**Evgeni: Lie.**

**Sid))) : Maybe I’ll just call Kovi instead? ;)**

Evgeni’s eye twitches in annoyance. Just as he is about to text back a snarky remark about Kovi’s horrendous wrister, he gets an incoming call from Pat. He answers immediately.

“What you hear from immigration?” Evgeni asks as soon as he knows the call has gone through.

“Hi, Geno,” Pat says sarcastically. “Nice talking to you, too. I’ve been doing great, thanks for asking.”

“Pat. No time to joke. What they say?”

“They said that you can begin everything for Naida as soon as you get her adoption papers signed. It won’t be as hard as we thought it would be because you already hold a permanent residency status in the States. Since you’ll legally be her father, it’ll be much easier to get her through customs and to get her settled in when she finally gets to Pittsburgh.”

Evgeni breathes a deep sigh of relief.

“Thanks, Pat.”

“Anytime, G. This little girl must be someone really special for you to go all these lengths to adopt her.”

Evgeni thinks over the past few days and how close he has gotten to Naida. He couldn’t imagine his life without her in it. She has a very strong hold on his heart, and he knows he wants her to be a part of his family.

“She very special.”

 

When Monday rolls around, Evgeni gets the call that Naida’s papers are ready as long as Naida agrees to be adopted. He suddenly has the thought that maybe she doesn’t want to be adopted by Evgeni. It’s one thing to get along with someone and to have them visit you every day and teach you how to play hockey. It’s another thing entirely to for someone to trust another person to care for them while they are still growing up. Evgeni was told not to discuss the adoption process with Naida until everything was ready to be said and done. In the end, Naida still has the choice to tell Evgeni no, and Evgeni will have no choice but to respect her choice.

But he can tell how much she hates that place. The children are cruel because she chooses to draw instead of playing outside with the others. She likes to read and talk to the adults that help take care of her. She loves school and learning any new skill, practicing until she gets it right.

She is very different from the other children in the orphanage, yes, but she is smart and feisty. She doesn’t put up with anyone’s shitty behavior, and she loves to care for the younger children.

Evgeni, Maria, and Ilya step into Naida’s room that she shares with three other girls to find her sketching something in the new sketchbook Evgeni bought for her the day before. Naida looks up and grins at Evgeni.

“Zhenya!” she shouts. She throws her sketchbook and pencil to the bed before jumping up and running to Evgeni, squealing when Evgeni catches her and spins her around. He laughs with her and puts her down.

“What are you drawing?” he asks.

“Practicing my trees,” Naida replies. “I can’t show you yet, though. It’s a surprise.”

“I’m having to go back to Magnitogorsk in two days, so I won’t be in St. Petersburg.”

Naida’s face falls.

“You’re leaving?” Her small voice trembles as she speaks.

“My team is in Magnitogorsk,” he explains softly. “I have to be there for them.”

Naida fiddles with her thumbs in her lap, looking everywhere except at Evgeni.

“So you’re leaving forever?” Her voice is wobbly when she asks, and Evgeni’s heart breaks at seeing the tears close to spilling over onto her cheeks.

“No.”

Naida snaps her eyes up at his grinning face. She looks so hopeful.

“I was hoping you would come with me—as my daughter. I want to adopt you, Naida. But only if you want me to.”

As soon as the words are out of his mouth, Evgeni knows that he’s said the right thing.

Naida, after getting over the shock of the proposition, flings herself onto Evgeni with now happy tears in her bright green eyes. Evgeni thinks they look brighter than they did before, but it could just be a trick of the light. Naida is sobbing as she thanks Evgeni for wanting to adopt her.

“You’re going to be my new Papa, Zhenya?” she asks quietly as she hugs him tight. The same warmth from their first hug on the ice during those hockey classes engulfs Evgeni’s core. Evgeni gently squeezes her as he holds her.

“You don’t have to call me Papa if you don’t want to,” he whispers. “You can still call me Zhenya.”

“Ok, Zhenya.” Naida hides her face in Evgeni’s shoulder and doesn’t let go. Evgeni is glad to indulge her.

She’s his daughter now. He can spoil her as much as he wants.

 

When Evgeni had called his parents and told them that he was adopting a little girl in St. Petersburg, they both thought he had lost his mind. At first, they tried to tell him that having a child would take away his focus or even convince him to stay in Russia for the rest of his career. Even though they would love for him to stay where he is close by them, they know that his dream was always the NHL. They know he would never give up Pittsburgh.

So of course, Evgeni is irrationally nervous about his Mama and Papa being hostile toward his new daughter. He knows it’s dumb to think that his parents would be mean to a child, but he doesn’t want anyone trying to tell him that he’s made a horrible choice by adopting Naida. He knows, deep down in his soul, that he is doing the right thing.

Evgeni tells Naida all about his hometown, his family, his teammates, and so many other stories on their journey from St. Petersburg back to Magnitogorsk. He can tell she is excited about this new adventure in her life if her constant questions and incessant bouncing in her airplane seat are anything to go by. At one point, he notices those familiar little sparks of purple around her braided hair but ignores it like he did the last two times he saw them.

There is something extraordinary about Naida. She’s a special kid, anyway, but he has a feeling that there is something else at play here that he can’t exactly pinpoint.

When they finally arrive at Magnitogorsk’s airport, Evgeni’s parents are waiting patiently by the terminal. He hugs them both and clears his throat.

“Mama, Papa,” he announces, “this is Naida.” He turns his head to find Naida hiding shyly behind Evgeni’s massive suitcase. He holds his hand out for her to take, and she hesitantly obeys. He holds her close to his side and lets his parents watch her curiously.

“Hello,” Naida says quietly. Evgeni has never seen her be this shy before, but he understands her nervousness. Meeting new people is always scary, but he hopes that she will learn to overcome her fears with time. She is such a smart, bright girl and she deserves to be loved by everyone.

Mama slowly squats to Naida’s level just two feet away from the little girl hiding behind her son.

“Hello, Naida,” Mama says first with a kind smile on her face. “I’m Natalia. I’m your new grandmother.”

Natalia slowly lets go of Evgeni and walks the short distance to his Mama to give her a hug. Natalia makes a surprised sound but hugs Naida back as lovingly as she can, just like she used to when Evgeni and Denis were once that small.

Papa squats down, too, and introduces himself as Naida’s new grandfather. Naida lets go of Mama and hugs Papa next with just as much happiness. Mama rests a hand on Naida’s back and grins at the picture before her. Evgeni’s heart melts into a puddle on the floor as his parents happily welcome Naida into their family.

 

Evgeni hires a tutor for Naida who knows both English and Russian as a way to prepare Naida for when they go back to the States. An ending to this lockout might look bleak right now, but it’ll end. And when it does, Evgeni and Naida will be on the first flight back to Pittsburgh.

Naida is going to love America, but she’ll love it even more if she knows the language. Evgeni knows that he screwed around a lot in his English classes when he was younger, and he regrets not learning enough English for when he would finally come to the States to play in the NHL, but the past cannot be changed. Instead, he will do right by Naida and teach her the basics of what she needs to know about the English language and the American culture before they get to the States.

November bleeds into December. Sid is still not in Russia, and the lockout is still going strong. When Evgeni calls Sid again to wish him a Merry Christmas, it’s clear that the lockout might finally be coming to an end.

“Don’t take my word for it just yet,” Sid tells him on Christmas Eve, “but I’m pretty sure we’re still going to have a hockey season this year.”

The call about the lockout coming to an end comes to Evgeni in the midst of celebrating the New Year with Naida, his teammates, and his teammates’ families. Naida is doodling in the corner of one of his teammates’ homes while one of the boys sits by her and watches her draw, and Evgeni is happy that Naida is making fast friends. It’s bittersweet, though, because he knows that they will go back to the States, and she will have to start all over again.

He ignores the first two times he gets a call from the same number on his American phone, but he finally answers the third time he gets the call.

“Who is this?” he asks in English.

“It’s me, G,” Sid’s voice crackles over the phone. “I had to use a damn payphone here in New York because my phone died on me.”

Evgeni wants to make a joke about Sid’s shitty flip phone battery life, but Sid is still talking.

“The lockout is over, G. Practice starts back up in a week. Make sure you can get your ass back to the States in time. We have hockey to play together.”

When Evgeni looks at Naida again, she’s laughing and still drawing in her new sketchbook that Evgeni got her for Christmas. He grins and feels elated.

“See you in Pittsburgh, Sid,” he says into the receiver before hanging up the phone.

 

Evgeni calls Pat the next day and finds out that Naida’s immigration papers have been approved and filed, and she can come to the United States without any issues. It also helps that Evgeni took his Mama’s advice and had a passport made for Naida as soon as he adopted her. He tells Naida that they’re moving to America, and he’s prepared for both the excitement of moving to a new place along with the sadness that she is leaving Evgeni’s parents behind.

“We promise to call you every day, Nasha,” Papa tells her when Evgeni and Naida are at the airport two days after the call. Naida is sniffling as she hugs both of her new grandparents.

“We’ll come to visit soon, sweetheart,” Natalia promises. “Be good for your Papa. Send us some drawings when you can.”

Naida nods and kisses both of them of the cheek, which they return with kisses of their own to both of her cheeks. Naida sighs sadly and walks back over to Evgeni. Evgeni takes her hand and hugs his parents with exchanges of heartfelt “I love you”s one last time before boarding their plane.

 

Naida is awake through the entire plane ride from Magnitogorsk to Moscow. She’s asleep for most of the flight from Moscow to New York, thank God, because Evgeni himself needs some sleep, too. There’s an eight-hour layover before they can board their flight to Pittsburgh, and Naida mostly draws in her sketchbook and gawks at how big JFK is. Evgeni indulges her by letting her try American McDonald’s for the first time.

Watching her reaction after eating her first chicken nugget is priceless.

They FaceTime Mama and Papa at the airport during their layover and have to practically fly to get to their terminal. Naida is huffing unhappily at how fast they have to run until Evgeni finally decides to pick her up and carry her the rest of the way. She shrieks and laughs as she is carried underneath Evgeni’s arm like a running back with a football.

 

When they finally, _finally_ land in Pittsburgh, Evgeni is tired. All he wants to do right now is sleep for the next four days.

Naida, on the other hand, is practically bouncing off the walls of her new home. She loves all the fancy decorations and the crazy paintings all over the main floor of the house. Evgeni shows her around and lets her explore where she wants to go. He saves her room for last, hoping that she will love what the interior designers have done with her room since he hired them the month before to get her room ready.

He knows he’s done a good job when Naida gasps at her new bedroom. The walls are painted a pretty lilac color, and there’s fairy lights hanging from her high ceiling. There’s a darker purple rug covering the floor where her massive bed and desk are. Her bedspread is purple with hints of lime green thrown in, and her desk has a cool spinning chair and a stool so she can use the place to do her drawings and her homework.

“What do you think of your new room, Nasha?” Evgeni asks. Naida turns around with tears in her eyes and hugs him tightly.

“I love it, Zhenya,” she mumbles into his stomach. Evgeni’s nose burns as he holds back his own tears.

“I love you, Naida,” he whispers.

“I love you, too.”

 

Evgeni hires a Russian nanny named Anna who is also very good at speaking English and specifically requests her to try and help Naida become more confident in her English. The school year has already started in Pittsburgh, and he wants to wait until the next school year to actually enroll her in school. He doesn’t think it’s right to just throw her to the wolves, despite what Pat keeps telling him. He’s going to have to do a lot of research on the Pittsburgh school systems over the summer.

So instead of sending her off to school, he hires a tutor, a sweet middle-aged lady named Galina, to homeschool Naida and help her better her English and help her get to where she needs to be in school—maybe even a little ahead of her classmates just to be safe.

Getting back onto the rink with his teammates is a relief. Evgeni has missed Pittsburgh so much more than he had expected. He’s missed the food, the fans, his team, everything. He never realized how much he actually missed Sid of all the people until he sees his Captain again for the first time since last year.

Sid looks good, healthy. He’s got this glow on his face like he always does at the beginning of a new season, but there’s a newfound hunger there. He knows that Sid has missed being able to play hockey since those cursed concussion days, and he knows that this new season is going to be a time for Sid to prove that he can still play the game—not just to the team or to the fans, but to himself.

And Evgeni will be there to support him every step of the way.

 

Evgeni is a dead man walking by the end of the first week of practice, but he feels ironically good. He still gets to see Naida every day after practice and have dinner with her every night. He wants to take her to his practices, but he doesn’t know how she’ll react to all of his teammates. She did fine in Russia, but she also knew the language there and could talk to them without any kind of barrier.

He can tell Naida is not enjoying learning the English language. She hated having to learn it back home in Russia, and she still hates it now. Like father, like daughter. She’s smart as a whip, but she is very stubborn about having to learn something that she deems as _completely_ _pointless._

He decides that it might be best to introduce the team to his new daughter one player at a time. He knows that Mario and Jen will have to meet her first. He hasn’t told anyone outside of his family, Pat, and his teammates back home in Russia about the newest addition to his family. He doesn’t want to overwhelm Naida with so many new people all at once.

At least that’s what the parenting book keeps telling him. He hates that he’s that parent now, especially since he only bought the book so his mother would leave him alone about not knowing what the hell to do with a child that he has freshly adopted. He didn’t think that it would actually help. Now he’s catching himself reading it all the time at home.

He’s thinking of how to introduce Naida to the team and to everyone else on the roster when he is walking into his house and it’s unusually quiet. Naida has taken it upon herself to take over the downstairs with all of her drawing supplies and her new hockey stick that Evgeni bought for her when she said she wanted one _just like my Zhenya’s._

But she isn’t in the living room, and Anna is asleep at the kitchen table, her science notes scattered all over the place. He sighs sympathetically and wakes her up to tell her she can go home. She thanks him and starts packing her stuff.

“She was good today,” she tells him in Russian. “She was so tired that she wanted to sleep a little before you came home. She should be in her room.”

“No wonder the house is so quiet,” he mumbles. Anna giggles quietly and slings her bag across her shoulder.

“Have a good evening, Evgeni Vladimirovich,” Anna says as she quietly leaves the house. Evgeni quietly ascends the stairs to Naida’s room and listens in through her closed door to check if she is really asleep. He can hear her mumbling voice through the door and grins happily that she’s awake.

“Naida!” he calls out happily as he opens the door to his daughter’s room. He is about to say something about making dinner when he stops dead in the doorway. Naida isn’t playing in the floor or by her desk like he thought she would be.

“Zhenya!” Naida cheers from her spot seven feet in the air—in the middle of her room.

She’s grinning like this is completely normal and starts dancing _in the air._ She’s acting like this is completely normal. The purple sparks that Evgeni thought he had been hallucinating around her head for months are now all around her body, and she looks so thrilled with herself for being able to hang around mid-air. She’s not falling or flailing around in a panic, and she looks so relaxed and happy—like she belongs there.

“I finally did it! I got the spell right! Zhenya? Why do you look so pale?”

That’s the last thing Evgeni remembers hearing before promptly fainting.

 

“Zhenya? Zhenya? Are you okay?”

Evgeni groans as he opens his eyes to see Naida hovering worriedly over him. She’s a little too close for comfort, but she’s never been very good at giving people their personal space. Evgeni blinks and slowly sits up, rubbing his eye with the heel of his palm.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he assures his daughter. “Just—pretty sure I’m going crazy. Could’ve sworn I saw you floating in the air.”

Naida tilts her head and makes a face.

“But I was floating in the air,” she says like it’s purely fact. “You weren’t imagining that. I can do other spells, too.”

Evgeni stares at her.

“People can’t float or fly, Naida,” he says gently. “That’s in fairytales and superhero movies. And spells are for witches, which are definitely not real.” Naida rolls her eyes.

“But I am real, silly.”

“Naida, you are not a witch.”

“Yes, I am. I have a spellbook and everything. Watch.”

Naida suddenly snaps her fingers, and an ivory leather bound book appears in her lap. Evgeni has seen that book in the midst of all of Naida’s stuff, but he has never bothered to ask her what it was. All he knew is that it belonged to her mother and that Naida always kept it guarded. He figured she would tell him the story behind the book one of these days.

Looks like today is about to be that day. He needs coffee if he’s about to try and process the fact that his newly adopted daughter is a witch. And apparently a very good one at that.

Naida flips open the book until she lands on a passage that she can very clearly read, but Evgeni thinks it just looks like a bunch of sharp symbols that have no real meaning. It’s not any alphabet he’s ever seen before.

“This was my Mama’s until she died,” Naida explains. “She would teach me spells from this book when I was little and said she would give me my own spellbook when the time came. But this one is mine now, and there’s so much I still need to learn.”

Evgeni has never really heard Naida talk about her parents. The panic and shock of the events that have transpired in the last five minutes dissipates, and Evgeni instead focuses on how thoughtful and happy Naida looks reading from her spellbook. He clears his throat to get her attention.

“You have any other spells you want to show me?” he asks hesitantly.

Naida’s eyes light up, literally and figuratively. Her green irises turn an impossibly glowing emerald, and she looks the happiest he has ever seen her.

For the next hour or so, Naida shows Evgeni all of the spells she has been taught and the ones she is still trying to teach herself. She turns his hair pink at one point and rearranges some of the furniture in her room. She makes a couple of things appear out of thin air, and there’s so much more than she can do. Evgeni doesn’t know how to process what is happening, but he knows that this isn’t just a figment of his imagination.

He has to call someone. He’s going to lose his mind if he doesn’t tell someone about his daughter being a witch. He’s excited and terrified all at once, but he needs to be careful with who he tells this to. This is a big secret, and he doesn’t want to involve the wrong people.

His thumb skims through his contacts until he finally lands on the one name he probably shouldn’t call, but he needs someone responsible and with a much more calm, cool, and collected approach to things thrown from left field.

“Hey, G. What’s up?” Sid greets over the phone.

“Come over,” Evgeni demands.

“It’s late, and I was about to go to bed.”

“Sleep later. Need you here now.”

Sid sighs over the receiver.

“Fine. Are you at home?”

“Yes.”

“What’s this even about?”

“Can’t explain. Need to see for yourself.”

“Whatever you say, G. I’ll see you in a few.”

Sid hangs up, and Evgeni’s heart is pounding. How is he supposed to explain to one of his closest friends that not only does he have a daughter now, but said daughter is also a witch?

Naida is still casting spells all around the house, giggling as she makes everything move around with what seems like the twitch of her nose, while Evgeni nervously paces the foyer. He should probably warn Naida that someone is coming over and they will see her use her magic, but she’s too busy floating up to the ceiling and turning things different colors.

“Naida!” Evgeni calls out when his daughter gets too close to the chandelier. “Get down from there! You’re going to hurt yourself!”

“But it’s fun!” Naida whines.

“Naida, I’m serious! Get down here right now!”

“No!”

Jesus. Of all the times for Naida to act like a normal child with an attitude, she chooses _now_ to stop listening to Evgeni. She couldn’t even do this when he made her eat all of her vegetables the other night? She has to do this tonight?

Evgeni is about to say something else to Naida when there’s a knock on the front door. Evgeni and Naida both freeze and turn their heads to the door.

“It’s me,” Sid’s voice comes from the other side of the threshold. Evgeni pales. That was a much faster car ride here than he thought.

“Who is that?” Naida asks in a panicked voice.

“Just one second!” Evgeni calls out to Sid in English before turning back to Naida, who is now attempting to hide behind the bars of the stairwell.

“Why is there someone here?” she demands.

“He’s a friend of mine. He’s here to meet you.”

“What?!”

“Geno? Who is that?” Sid asks.

Naida runs the rest of the way up the steps and slams the door to her room. Evgeni swears to himself. He should have thought this through. Now Naida is probably thinking he’s going to exploit her magic or something.

So much for being a decent parent.

Evgeni runs to open the front door before Sid decides to leave. When he opens the door, Sid is standing on the other side in a pair of sweatpants, a coat, and snow-covered boots. He’s frowning cutely with his dark, curly hair framing his face perfectly.

“Hey, Sid,” Evgeni greets breathlessly. He gestures for Sid to come in, and the other man gladly does.

“Hey,” he says slowly as he slips off his coat and boots. “So what’s this all about?”

Evgeni closes the door and bites his lip nervously.

“Is complicated,” he replies.

“Sounds like it if it’s got you acting like this. By the way, who else is here? I heard another voice from outside.”

Evgeni is about to answer when a sudden, glowing purple ball comes from the top of the staircase and hits Sid square in the chest. It’s not very strong, but it’s still strong enough to knock Sid off his feet.

“Naida!” Evgeni shouts angrily as he helps a groaning Sid up to his feet. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“I’m not going anywhere!” Naida screams. “You can’t send me away! You promised you wouldn’t get rid of me!”

Evgeni’s heart stops. He takes the stairs two at a time and calls for Naida to not run away from him.

“I’m not sending you away, Nasha!” Evgeni promises. “I would never do that to you!”

“Liar!”

Another purple spark is headed straight for Evgeni’s head and he has to duck so that he won’t get hit. He stands in front of Naida’s locked bedroom door and sighs to himself.

“Naida, please listen—”

“No!”

“I’m not sending you away,” Evgeni repeats in a softer voice. “I just wanted you to meet one of my friends from my American hockey team. He’s a good person. He won’t take you away and he won’t hurt you, I promise. I promised that I wouldn’t abandon you or send you away, and I’m keeping my word. Just come out here and say hi to him, and then he’ll be gone.”

There’s a long pause before Evgeni hears the lock click and the door slowly creaks open. Naida is huddled in on herself with tear tracks staining her face. As if Evgeni didn’t feel like the worst parent in the world already, now he just feels like he doesn’t even deserve to be a parent. He kneels down to his daughter’s height on his good knee and takes her into his embrace. He’s relieved that she doesn’t pull away. Instead, she buries her face in the crook of his neck and stays there.

“I don’t think he wants to see me anymore,” Naida finally mumbles into Evgeni’s t-shirt.

“Yes he does, Nasha,” Evgeni insists. “He’ll love you.”

“Everything ok up here?”

Naida lifts her head to look at the unfamiliar voice speaking in a foreign language from behind her father. Evgeni turns his head and sees Sid standing near the top of the steps with a worried look etched into his face.

“We good, Sid,” Evgeni promises in English. He looks to Naida. “We good?”

He knows she understands that by the way she nods somberly. Evgeni stands and takes Naida with him, letting her sit on his hip. Sid’s face immediately lights up with a smile.

“Who’s this, G?” he asks in the same voice he always uses when he hangs out with kids. Evgeni grins proudly at his daughter.

“Naida,” he says. “My daughter.”

Sid blinks.

“Your daughter?” he repeats.

“Not my blood daughter. I adopt her during lockout.”

Sid raises his eyebrows and then laughs happily.

“And everyone said I would have kids first. She’s definitely a cutie.”

Evgeni knows this. He thinks she’s the cutest kid in the world. He’s a little biased, of course, but she’s definitely the cutest in his mind.

“Can you say hi to Sid, Nasha?” Evgeni coos in his native tongue. Naida hesitates before finally lifting her head up to look at Sid.

Evgeni kind of assumed that Naida would either duck her head again to hide from Sid, give him some kind of glare, or maybe even smile and say hi. He doesn’t expect her to simply tilt her head to the side and give Sid a very quizzical look. Evgeni can’t really decipher what she might be thinking, and it makes him nervous.

Then she says something to Sid that is definitely not in any language Evgeni has ever heard before. It sounds more like a question based on her tone of voice, and Sid’s hazel eyes grow as big as saucers.

“She never talk in that language to me before,” Evgeni insists because, in all honesty, she hasn’t. He’s never heard her speak anything other than Russian and English, and it’s kind of making his brain short-circuit a little.

He thinks Sid would be freaked out, too, but Sid is just— _staring_ at Naida.

And then, to really fuck with Evgeni’s already blown mind, Sid says something in reply that is very clearly in the same strange language that Naida just spoke in.

Naida gasps loudly and starts wiggling and asking for Evgeni to put her down. He obediently does, too shocked to really do anything other than what’s asked of him. Naida runs over to Sid and skids to a halt when they’re toe to toe with each other. Sid takes a knee and looks at her very seriously. He asks her a couple of questions, Evgeni thinks, and she seems to answer them with a sure finality in her voice. Sid’s mouth is hanging open and raises one eyebrow at Naida before looking back up to Evgeni.

“You know, G,” Sid says in English, “it’s one thing for you to adopt a six year-old kid. It’s a completely different thing to adopt a witch.”

“He’s a witch, Zhenya!” Naida shouts happily in Russian. “He’s a witch! He’s a witch! He’s a witch!”

Evgeni starts to feel lightheaded again.

“Need to sit,” Evgeni says before collapsing onto his ass on the floor. Naida and Sid both scoot over to check on him.

“I knew you were hanging around a witch lately,” Sid tells him, “because I could feel another witch’s energy all around you. But I just thought you were just dating one or that you were friends with one. The fact that you’ve adopted an actual witch is really kind of crazy, even for you.”

Evgeni laughs almost a little hysterically, Sid and Naida not too far behind. He just can’t really believe that this is his life right now.

“Not know Naida is witch until tonight,” Evgeni explains when he’s calmed down some.

“That’s what she told me when I was talking to her. She said that you’ve really gone above and beyond for her since you took her in.”

Evgeni smiles softly at Naida, who is watching their exchange with curious green eyes.

“She good kid,” he says. He turns back to Sid. “So all witches speak same language?”

“We have the same universal language. We all come from different backgrounds and all have different specialties, but we all have a common language. It makes life easier when we’re already trying to communicate from all different nations.”

“So—you really witch?”

Sid grins bashfully.

“Yeah. I am. I’m a North American witch. We’re all classed based on where we originate from geographically.”

“What about Naida?”

Sid tilts his head to Naida and asks her something in their witch language, and she answers fairly quickly.

“She says her father was from Greece, and her mother was from Russia. She doesn’t remember where she was born. All she knows is that she once lived in Greece, and then they moved to St. Petersburg right before her parents died.”

Naida’s eyes look a little sad like they always do when she goes into any details about her parents. Evgeni hugs her closer to his side and kisses her forehead. Naida looks like she wants to say something until she stares wide-eyed at her growling stomach. Evgeni and Sid laugh.

“How about we all eat something?” Sid advises. “We’ve all had a pretty overwhelming night, and I’m sure some food will help us all feel better. What do you guys have to eat downstairs?”

 

Sid ends up making omelettes and waffles while Evgeni and Naida both watch in amazement. Partially because Evgeni can barely boil water correctly. But Sid is also using his magic to make everything.

Evgeni shouldn’t be so amazed at watching Sid, but the witch is so skilled at what he does. It’s hard not to just sit back and appreciate his talents. Naida is just as entranced. She mentions to Evgeni at one point that Sid does his spells a lot like how her mom used to, and Evgeni takes a moment to process that. He is very thankful for any moment where Naida can trust him enough to tell him about her life before her parents died.

He wants her so badly to remember her parents. She was theirs first, and their memory deserves to be solidified. He only wishes he had one picture of them to keep for Naida. He would probably put it in a frame and put it on the mantle over the fireplace along with all the other family pictures that will soon go up there.

The three of them talk for a little while, three different languages having to be translated and nearly causing some major confusion. Then Naida is yawning loudly and Evgeni coos at her in Russian, asking her if she’s tired. Naida nods in reply and lets her little eyes droop closed.

“We take her to bed,” Evgeni whispers to Sid. Sid nods and stands up, following closely behind his friend as he carries her off to bed.

Sid stands in the doorway while Evgeni tucks Naida into her bed and wishes her a good night’s sleep. He turns off all the lights in her room, kisses her forehead, and quietly closes the door behind himself. Sid is still standing in the hallway, waiting for Evgeni.

“Thanks for come over,” Evgeni says quietly.

“Or for sure, G,” Sid says back just as quietly. “She’s a good kid. I’m so happy I got to meet her.”

“Sorry she zap you.”

“It’s no big deal. Taylor used to do that to me for kicks when we were kids. I can take it.”

Evgeni stares in surprise. Sid quietly laughs into his fist.

“It’s a witch thing. Taylor and I used to zap and hex each other all the time when she got old enough to figure out the spells for herself.”

Evgeni slowly nods, not really making sense of what he’s being told, but he’s learned to just go along with it.

“So I assume she doesn’t have someone teaching her how to use her magic,” Sid says as they descend down the staircase. Evgeni shakes his head. “She needs a teacher to help her get control of her powers. She’s pretty good at handling herself for the most part, but she’s still a kid. If her emotions get too extreme—like, worse than what happened tonight—it could get pretty ugly. She’s pretty strong and powerful from what I can see, and she needs another witch to be her mentor. There’s only so much you can do as her father and as a human.”

“How I find witch teacher for her?” Evgeni asks when they’re standing in the foyer. Sid’s cheeks turn a little pink as he ducks his head.

“I could teach her.”

Evgeni raises a brow.

“You sure? She handful.”

“All kids are a handful. She’s still a great kid from what I can see. I wouldn’t mind being her mentor. That is, if you’re okay with it. Your choice since you’re her father.”

Evgeni suddenly feels like he is on proper footing since learning that his daughter and his best friend are both witches. It would be good for Naida to be around familiar faces who can help her with her powers. And Sid is already so great with her, even after an almost disastrous first meeting. The way Naida’s eyes lit up when she learned that Sid was a witch like her will forever be ingrained in Evgeni’s memory. She looked so happy. He could never take that away from her.

“Okay.”

Sid’s eyes shine like a fire.

“You’re serious?” he says excitedly.

“Most serious. She need good people to support her. Is what parent book say.”

Sid honks out a laugh.

“I never thought you’d be the type to get a parenting book,” he gasps between breaths. Evgeni playfully glares.

“I buy to make Mama happy,” he grumbles. “Is good book. Give good advice.”

Sid’s laughing dies down into fits of giggles, and Evgeni can’t resist laughing alongside him. Sid has always had that kind of effect on him. He doesn’t see Sid laugh like this too much, but when he does, it’s contagious. It’s cute.

He shuts down that last thought almost instantly.

He had let go of those feelings a long time ago, back when he was young and longing for someone that he knew he could never have. He has a daughter to think about now. Any feelings trying to reach the surface will have to stay dormant.

“We can start lessons this week if you’re ok with that,” Sid suggests. “I want to start working with her as soon as possible.”

“Yes, that works. Give babysitter time to study. She nurse student.”

“Good.” Sid puts on his boots and coat and opens the front door. “See you tomorrow at practice, G.”

“Later, Sid.”

Sid flashes Evgeni one more warm smile before stepping out into the chilly January air. Evgeni quietly closes the door behind him and looks around the house. It’s a little bit of a disaster due to Naida’s panicked tantrum, but Evgeni is too drained to worry about it. Instead, he simply heads up the stairs to his bedroom.

He stops by Naida’s room and checks on her one last time. She looks content as she sleeps, and Evgeni smiles softly at her. His heart still skips a beat every time he sees Naida. She’s his whole world, and he has never been happier. Winning the Cup pales in comparison to adopting this little girl that has turned his life upside down. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

He shuts off the light in the hall and goes to his room down the hall to get ready for bed.

 

 Sid keeps his world and begins lessons with Naida two days later.

Evgeni is allowed to stay and watch most of it. It’s still a little difficult for him to wrap his head around the fact that his daughter is a witch. She’s fun to watch, though. She giggles every time she gets a spell right and picks up on them incredibly fast. Even Sid is impressed with her progress after one lesson.

Then one lesson becomes two lessons.

Then three.

Then four.

They’ve had seven lessons when the season begins. They have to go away to Philadelphia and New York for a mini road trip before their home opener. Evgeni has to leave Naida at home with Anna and Galina, much to his and his daughter’s obvious dismay. He gives her a kiss goodbye and lets Sid come pick him up from the house so they can go to the airport together. Naida hugs Sid goodbye as well, and Evgeni acts like he doesn’t see how happy Sid is that Naida is giving him hugs like she gives to her father.

They win both games away and then lose their first game at home. Normally, Evgeni would go home and mope and lick his wounds after a loss. But when he arrives home, he sees his daughter dancing around in her new Penguins jersey that Sid had given her a few days ago as a first meeting present. It has Evgeni’s name and number on the back, and Evgeni’s anger and self-pity suddenly evaporate.

Anna appears from around the corner with her heavy backpack already packed and ready to go. She gives Evgeni the nightly report on Naida and then has to quickly bid him and Naida good night.

Naida turns around and says bye to Anna. Then she sees Evgeni standing in the doorway and shouts and cheers in excitement. She runs toward him and jumps in his waiting arms. She giggles as he swings her around.

“You’re supposed to be in bed, Nasha,” he lightly scolds. “Why are you still up?”

“I wanted to watch the game,” she replies. “You still played great, even if you lost. And I have something to show you.”

“What is it?”

Naida holds her small hand out and focuses her attention at it. Her eyes flash their trademark emerald as she makes a small ball of fire appear in her palm. Evgeni whistles lowly at Naida’s newest skill. He knew that she and Sid had been working on fire recently, but it’s still pretty neat to watch her practice on her own.

“Looking good, Nasha,” he says happily. “Sid will be impressed when he comes over tomorrow.”

Naida rambles on about her new paints that Galina bought for her and her English homework that she’s not starting to hate as badly as before, and and lingering bad feelings quickly vanish without a trace. Now he is beginning to understand why guys with families at home usually feel better after any kind of loss. There’s no way Evgeni could ever stay angry and frustrated with the cutest little girl being his daughter.

It’s like his love for Naida grows stronger than before every day.

 

Evgeni’s feelings for Sid start to slowly grow with time as well.

Sid spends a lot of time at the Malkin house: teaching Naida spells, going over game tape with Evgeni, or simply just being there with them on days off. It’s nice having Sid around to keep both of them company.

“Why I not meet your family, Sid?” Naida asks one night when they’re all eating dinner—and in _English,_ no less. Sid’s playful grin falters for only a fraction of a second, but Evgeni notices it before it can vanish.

“My family lives in Canada,” he tells her. “I have a little sister that goes to school, and my parents still live in the town I grew up in.”

“We go?” Naida asks, turning to Evgeni and giving him the biggest puppy eyes she can muster.

“Nasha—” Evgeni begins to say, but Sid interrupts him.

“Of course, Naida. We can’t go right now because of hockey, but you and your Papa can come to Canada any time over the summer.”

“Really?” Naida shrieks excitedly.

“Really, really.”

Evgeni would love to come to Nova Scotia over the summer to visit Sid. Sid had invited him on multiple occasions to come to Cole Harbour and see his hometown in all of its coastal glory when they were younger. But he declined every year because of his still harbored feelings for Sid. At the time, he knew that he wouldn’t have been able to take it anymore and would have attempted to do something incredibly stupid that would have ruined their friendship and, ultimately, the team.

He thinks he could handle it now, though. He may still have some feelings for Sid, but he can put all of that to the side if it means seeing Naida happy.

“Then we plan trip for summer,” Evgeni announces. Sid and Naida both cheer happily, matching each other’s enthusiasm so effortlessly.

And that settles that for the time being.

 

The Penguins’ Valentine’s Day family skate is coming up, and Evgeni is required to be there. He debates with himself for three days on whether he should take Naida, and he still hasn’t really made a decision with two days to spare. Jen has already been informed of Naida’s existence, so he knows she would do everything in her power to keep Naida from being exposed to the mandatory cameras there. He’s not worried about that.

“What if team not like her, Sid?” Evgeni pouts after Naida’s lesson. She’s in the high-fenced backyard, zapping hexes at the makeshift targets and objects put in place to help her practice. She doesn’t have to worry about being cold because of her supernatural warmth, but Evgeni still worries when she goes outside without wearing shoes or a coat. She’s been on a kick recently to not wear shoes, and it has Evgeni rolling his eyes to the ceiling every single time Naida says no to wearing her snow boots when they need to be somewhere.

Sid sighs into his hot chocolate.

“They will love her, G,” Sid says for the umpteenth time that week. “There’s other children there her age who would have fun hanging out with her. She needs to be around other children. She and Maeva would totally get along.”

“What if other kids mean to her?” Evgeni laments. “Children treat her so bad in orphanage. Don’t know what I’m do if kids be mean to her at family skate.”

“They won’t be. They’re all good kids, and their parents would be really pissed if they started being mean to Naida. Plus, she can handle her own. She’s a tough kid.”

Evgeni knows Naida is tough, but that doesn’t stop his nerves.

“Just worry about her.”

“I know, G, and it’s normal to worry about her. All parents worry about their kids. And you have every right to worry about Naida not getting along with other kids. But you won’t know unless you try. I’m sure she would love to go. Have you even told her about family skate yet?”

“Not yet. Not know if I want her to go.”

Little footsteps quickly pound through the house as soon as Evgeni speaks, and he can see Naida running excitedly toward him out of the corner of his eye. He catches her before she can hurt herself and hoists her up into his lap. She laughs and reaches for Evgeni’s cup of hot chocolate.

“Better to ask her now than later,” Sid says. Naida turns her head to Evgeni.

“Ask me what?” Naida says in English. Evgeni inwardly grins proudly at how far Naida has come with her English in such a short period of time.

“There is this thing we call family skate,” Evgeni explains to her. “Families of everyone on team meet at hockey rink and skate all day. Is fun.”

“Can I go?” Naida asks hopefully. “Want to skate, Zhenya.” Evgeni has to silence the worried part of his brain so he can just take in Naida’s pleading look. Sid is grinning smugly behind Naida, and Evgeni could kill him with a glare if he wanted to.

“Other kids be there,” he warns her. “You sure you ok to go?”

Naida quickly nods her head. She gently pats his cheek.

“I be okay, Zhenya,” she promises, like she’s the adult here and he’s the child. Evgeni sighs defeatedly. He should have known that she would want to go. He just really hopes he doesn’t regret informing Jen that Naida is, in fact, coming to family skate, after all.

 

Evgeni should be more excited getting to hang out with his teammates outside of a practice or game setting, but he’s too busy shaking in his skates to really care.

“Zhenya, can you help me tie my skates?” Naida asks as she lifts a brand new hockey skate with bright purple laces up to Evgeni’s eye level where he’s kneeling on the floor. Evgeni backs away before she can accidentally kick him in the face with her uncovered blade. He grabs her ankle and slowly lowers her foot back to the ground.

They arrived at the arena fairly early, which is unlike Evgeni, but Naida wanted to practice her skating before a lot of people showed up. Sid is already there helping the crew finish setting up the nets, so at least they have someone else there that they both know.

When Evgeni finishes lacing up Naida’s skates, they carefully step onto the ice. Naida takes a deep breath and looks around at the empty arena. Evgeni understands the feeling.

“Ready to go, Nasha?”

“I was born ready.”

Evgeni laughs as they skate over to Sid, who has just finished setting up the play area for the older kids. Naida’s skating has tremendously improved since Sid has also offered to let Evgeni and Naida use his new synthetic ice rink built into his home so she can practice. All those lessons have proven themselves to be worth it because she is easily keeping up with Evgeni and isn’t wobbling on her skates at all.

Sid grins when he sees Naida and Evgeni. He’s wearing a long sleeved black shirt and well-fitted jeans that don’t leave too much to the imagination. Evgeni has to keep his eyes trained on Sid’s face, but his excited grin isn’t helping matters any, either. Sid looks good today. He always looks good, but he’s glowing today.

“I can’t believe you two are early!” he exclaims. He kneels down and picks Naida up without any problems and easily holds her on his own hip. Evgeni tries not to think about what else this image could mean: the three of them standing here near center ice, like a family. Like the family he has always wanted.

He mentally shakes away the thoughts and chirps Sid about being an overachiever, which Sid laughs off without any effort.

“Did you work on those plant spells like I told you to?” Sid asks Naida quietly since there’s still a couple of people out on the ice. Naida nods happily and proceeds to tell him—in her and Sid’s secret witch language, of course—all about how she brought a dead daisy back to life that she and Evgeni had planted specifically to help her practice her magic. Sid gives her a high five and says something back to her. She cackles and they continue their little conversation in their common tongue. One of the workers gives the three of them a strange look before turning back to what he was doing and leaving them be.

“Sid! Geno!”

Evgeni and Sid snap their heads to the side to see Flower and Tanger waving at them from the edge of the ice. Evgeni’s heartbeat picks up, but he manages to keep his composure as he, Sid, and Naida reach their friends.

“You’re early, G,” Flower notices. “Are you dying?”

“He’s probably coming down with a fever,” Tanger gasps. Evgeni makes a face and rolls his eyes. Having his friends chirp him eases some of the tension in his soul, but he is still going to have to be as casual as possible here. Anything less, and he could make this so unnecessarily hard on everyone. Sid passes Naida back to him and he takes note of Naida’s sudden shyness.

“I’m help Naida here practice before other kids show up,” he says. “Nasha, you say hi to Flower and Tanger?”

Naida’s wide, green eyes look at Flower suspiciously before she suddenly gasps and says something in her witch language to Sid. Sid cackles while Flower’s jaw drops and Tanger stares at Naida in amazement, and Evgeni is left confused.

“What she say?” Evgeni asks. Flower chuckles and turns his head to Evgeni.

“She called me a wood nymph,” he explains.

Oh great. Now Flower is some kind of mythical creature, too. Who else on this fucking roster is not human?

“Why you not tell me Flower is creature, too?” Evgeni pouts to Sid. “I have daughter who is witch. Then I find out you witch, too. Now Flower is wood nymph?”

“It wasn’t my secret to tell,” Sid says.

“I’m a werewolf, in case you didn’t know,” Tanger chimes in. Naida looks far too excited at the knowledge of more creatures around her. Evgeni knows he and Sid won’t be able to contain that.

Flower suddenly makes a beautiful purple flower appear in the palm of his hand, and he places the short stem behind Naida’s ear. Naida giggles as Flower fixes her wildly curly hair to make it work. When he’s satisfied with his work, he grins and pats Evgeni on the shoulder.

“She’s a beautiful little girl, G,” he says. Tanger grins at Naida as well.

“What’s your name, sweetie?” Tanger asks.

“Naida,” Naida immediately says, shyness dissipating as quickly as it came.

“That’s a very pretty name. I’m Kris, but you can call me Uncle Tanger. And this is Marc-Andre. But everyone calls him Flower.”

Evgeni and Sid glance at each other and take deep, relieved breaths. So far, so good. 

Meeting the rest of the team is not as eventful. Most of the guys are in total shock that Evgeni has a kid of his own now, but they all love her. Maeva Dupuis and Naida, as Sid had predicted, hit it off right off the bat. All the other kids want to meet Naida and get to know the newest addition to the very large Penguins family. Naida does a great job of keeping her magic under wraps, and Evgeni and Sid get to play a game of shinny with some of the kids, including Naida at one point.

When Naida scores her lone goal against all odds, she cheers and nails the one-legged celly.

“Papa! I get goal! You see my goal?!”

Evgeni’s throat closes up when he realizes what Naida has called him. He skates up to her and spins her around.

“I see, Nasha! Good goal!” he exclaims back.

All in all, family skate goes off without a hitch.

Sid rides home with Evgeni and Naida and decides it might be best to just crash at their house for the evening. Evgeni gives him spare towels for when he wants to take a shower and shows him the room he’ll be staying in for the evening.

“Hey, Geno.”

Evgeni is about to walk off to Naida’s room to tuck her in when he hears Sid softly call for him. Evgeni turns around to look at him again. He really hates that Sid is so attractive, even when he looks sleepy and ready to pass out at any second.

Sid looks like he’s about to say something else, something a little more serious than their usual back and forth banter, but then he starts to get his thinking face on.

“What is it, Sid?” Evgeni asks, hoping to hear what Sid has to say before the witch chickens out on him.

“I, um—I just wanted to say that I—” Sid’s voice trails off and he chuckles humorlessly to himself. “Just—good night, G.”

Evgeni doesn’t even have time to respond before Sid is shutting the door, leaving Evgeni stranded in the hallway. He thinks they might have been on the brink of something there, something life-altering and scary and exciting.

He doesn’t dwell on it, though. Naida is waiting for Evgeni to make her stop practicing her fire spells so she can sleep. If she had it her way, she would never sleep at night. Evgeni vaguely wonders if that’s a witch thing since Sid is the exact same way on roadies.

 

February drifts into March, and the Pens are winning some and losing some. Naida is continuing her school lessons with Galina and her witch lessons with Sid, and Evgeni’s feelings for Sid still haven’t gone away. If anything, they’ve grown exponentially.

Everything about Sid is attractive now, even the way he messily eats his burgers and hot dogs. Naida has grown very attached to Sid, and Evgeni knows that it’s his own fault. He should have put hard limits on Sid coming over. Once Sid finds a nice girl, gets married, and has kids of his own, Naida will be put on the backburner and forgotten. Evgeni fucked up and Naida will one day pay the price for it.

Well, he might be paying the price for it now that Sid is officially out with a broken jaw and a third of his teeth knocked out of his head.

Naida begs to go see Sid a couple of times, but Evgeni reluctantly has to tell her no.

“He’s still hurt, Nasha,” he says to her one night. “We can see him when he is ready.”

Turns out Sid is ready just over a week after his surgery on his face. He calls Evgeni and asks if Naida still wants to continue with her lessons. Of course, Naida definitely wants to come over and learn more spells, so Evgeni says that they’ll come over.

Evgeni chirps Sid for looking like an old man what with the lack of teeth, and Sid just takes it in stride. He hasn’t taken his painkiller yet because he knew he would be having Naida over, so he hisses sometimes when his mouth really begins to hurt.

“We can stop lessons for now,” Evgeni suggests when Naida’s lesson is done for the day. Naida is still practicing some spells outside while Sid and Evgeni talk. Sid stubbornly shakes his head.

“I’m fine,” he says. “Just sore is all.”

“Just try to look out for you. Know how stubborn you get.”

“I know, but—” Sid’s new jaw twitches uncomfortably. “I like doing lessons with Naida. It gives me something to do. I’m bored and lonely here, and I could use the company. I really want your company the most, though.”

Evgeni is pretty sure the overall effect of the medicines is making Sid talk like this, even if they’re most likely still trying to get out of his system. So he plays it off with a smirk.

“I’m best company always,” he says arrogantly, trying to get a laugh out of Sid. Except Sid isn’t laughing. He’s giving Evgeni that same look he gave him that night after the family skate, and his heart is suddenly in his throat.

“You are the best company, and I hate that you are.”

Evgeni blinks.

“What you mean?” he manages to ask.

“I hate that you and Naida have become such a huge part of my life, and I know I can’t have either of you like I want.”

Sid’s eyes widen like he can’t believe those words just came out of his mouth, and Evgeni realizes that it’s not the meds talking.

“Sid—”

“Forget what I said,” Sid begs. “I don’t want to make things weird between us, and I don’t want to stop seeing Naida and teaching her spells. I don’t want to have to give that up because of my stupid feelings for you.”

This bluntness is so unlike Sid, and Evgeni is wondering if he’s in some kind of dream.

“Shit, I shouldn’t have said that. This medicine makes me talk way too much, and I’m really fucking sorry, G. Look, I get it if you hate me now because I would hate me, too, if my best friend just—”

“Sid.”

Sid shuts up and stares up at Evgeni, who is now in his very personal space. Sid has to crane his neck to look up at his teammate, and Evgeni can see Sid’s Adam’s apple working in his throat.

“Geno?”

Evgeni just grins and leans in, pressing his lips as gently against Sid’s as he can. He can feel a cosmic shift between him and Sid, and his body feels warm and fuzzy, like how it does when Naida gives him one of her trademarked attack hugs. He pulls Sid flush against his body, and Sid happily goes where Evgeni moves him.

“Finally!”

The two men break apart when they see Naida standing with her hip popped out in the doorway leading outside to Sid’s backyard. They’re both blushing furiously at being caught by the young witch.

“Why you two take so long?” she asks. Evgeni can’t help it when a laugh bubbles out of him with Sid not too far behind. Naida makes a good point.

Why the hell did it take them so long?

 

The season doesn’t end like Sid and Evgeni had hoped, but that just means a long, extended summer where they can all go on all kinds of adventures.

They, along with Naida, travel through part of Russia, where they go to hang out with Evgeni’s family. They also try to find more information on Naida’s mother, but they come up short every time they come close to discovering the truth.

Then they decide to go to Greece to see if they can find Naida’s paternal heritage to no avail. Apparently, her father’s family doesn’t exist in Greece. And her original last name is very common in Greece, so it wouldn’t be easy to find the truth about her murky past. So yet another dead end.

Naida isn’t too disappointed, though. She tells Evgeni and Sid that she is perfectly fine with the two of them watching over her and being her new parents.

“My Papa and Daddy are enough,” she says to them when they prepare to leave Greece. Evgeni doesn’t make fun of Sid for his eyes watering up at hearing those words.

When they arrive in Miami to stop for a couple of days and relax, Naida is immediately drawn to the water like she was in Greece. Evgeni is glad that Naida loves boats and the water as much as he does, but she nearly gives him and Sid a heart attack every time she jumps in the water or runs into the waves without a floatation device.

Except this time, she doesn’t run straight into the waves at the first opportunity. She walks slowly to the edge of the water and then stops when the water is up to her waist. Evgeni and Sid glance at each other and are about to go see what’s got Naida acting so cautious when they see about a half dozen grown dolphins at her feet, clicking happily at her.

Evgeni and Sid look around to see if anyone else is there, but there’s luckily not another soul in sight. They cautiously move closer but stop dead in their tracks when they hear Naida clicking back at the dolphins. The animals are clicking even more excitedly than before, and Sid suddenly starts to laugh.

“I don’t believe it,” he says more to himself. Evgeni raises an eyebrow.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know why I didn’t pick up on it before.”

“Pick up on what?”

“I knew Naida was better with water magic than pretty much every other kind of magic, but I can’t believe I missed this.”

“What you miss?”

Sid is still grinning happily when he looks at Evgeni.

“She’s not fully witch. She’s only part witch.”

“What else is she?”

“Water nymph.”

Evgeni blinks.

“She what?”

“A water nymph. That’s why she’s named Naida. Her name is Greek for _water nymph._ She’s a water baby through and through.”

”You think is why we not find her father?”

”Maybe. Either way, now we know the truth about what she really is.”

”What can water nymphs do?”

”They’re meant to be protectors of the ocean and all of the creatures that live in it. They have a very strong connection with marine life, and some can even talk to them. Clearly Naida can.”

Evgeni narrows his eyes at daughter, who is still splashing in the water with the dolphins.

“That’s why she ask me if she can get pet fish for birthday. Make sense now.”

Sid honks as he cackles into Evgeni’s shoulder, and Evgeni can’t help but laugh along with him.

Evgeni’s family is definitely not traditional at all, but he really loves Sid and Naida all the same. He really is the luckiest man in the world.


End file.
